Laundry conveyer-drop.



APPLICATION FILED JAN. 12, 1911.

Patented Oct. 22, 1912.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILBUR W. QUINN, OF GOSI-IEN, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO NATIONALCHEMICAL COMPANY, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LAUNDRY CONVEYEB-DEOP.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, XVILBUR V. QUINN, of Goshen, in the county ofElkhart, in the State of Indiana, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Laundry Conveyer- Drops, of which the following, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear and exactdescription.

This invention relates to certain improvements in laundry conveyer dropsof the class set forth in my pending application No. 593,091 filedNovember 18, 1910, in which a comparatively light skeleton frame or headis suspended from a conveyer chain and provided with fixed jaws andgravity operated movable jaws coact-ing therewith to grip and hold thelaundried articles in transit through a suitable drying room.

As explained in my previous application referred to, it is desirable toprovide suitable means for preventing the laundried articles fromcatching upon or adhering to the movable jaws when said jaws arereleased from their gripping position upon their exit from the dryingroom, the object being to more positively assure the dropping of thearticles by their own gravity when the jaws are thus released. I havediscovered, however, that the means provided in my former applicationfor preventing the laundried articles from being caught upon thegripping ends of the jaws is not so effective as I anticipated.

One of the objects, therefore, of my present invention is to provide thegripping ends of the jaws with suitable shoulders or arms projectingtherefrom beyond the adjacent portions of the frame so as to limit theupward movement of the garment in inserting it between the jaws andthereby more effectively prevent such garment from catching upon theupper portions of the gripping ends of the jaws, for it is well knownthat as these laundried articles dry, their edges curl over more or lessand are therefore liable to become caught upon projecting portions ofthe jaws unless some provision is made to guard against it.

Another object is to locate the tripping arms of the movable jaws somedistance to the outside of their pivots so as to add additional weightto the closing of the jaws and thereby increase their gripping abilitywhen in a closed position.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 12, 1911.

Patented Oct. 22,1912,

Serial No. 602,311.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawingsFigures 1 and 2 are respectively a top plan and face viewof one of my improved conveyer drops showing a portion of the supportingstem. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the same drop.Fig. 4 is an edge view of the same device. Fig. 5 is a horizontalsectional view taken on line 55, Fig. 2.

This device is adapted to be attached to and suspended from a suitableconveyer chain not shown but which is arranged to travel through adrying room at a slow rate of speed to dry the laundried articles whileheld in the grip of the drop and adapted to be released upon emergingfrom the drying room by contact of portions of the movable jaws with asuitable cam track or tripping mechanism not necessary to hereinillustrate or describe as the operation of the conveyer chain andtripping device is well known.

This particular drop comprises a light skeleton frame 1- of cast metalor equivalent material having a pair of fixed gripping jaws 2- andmovable jaws 3 which are also made of metal in the form of bell cranklevers and are pivoted at 4 to a central pendant head 5- of the mainsupporting frame -1.

The head -5 is provided with a central tapering socket 6 opening fromthe top for receiving a corresponding tapering end of a supporting rod-7-- which is adapted to be attached to one of the links of a conveyerchain not shown, the head 1 or frame 5 being firmly locked to thesupporting bar 7 by means of a key 8-. This head -5 is also providedwith oppositely curved arms 9 extending outwardly and downwardly fromthe upper portion of the head above the pivots -4 and terminate in thefixed jaws 2 in a plane some distance below said pivots, leavingconsiderable intervening space between the fixed jaws and also betweensaid jaws and the head 5 for the free play of the movable jaws 3- andalso for the reception of the laundried articles to be dried betweensaid jaws, the gripping points of the fixed jaws 2 being located in thearc of movement of the gripping points of the movable jaws 3 althoughthe inner faces of the arms -9 above the fixed jaws -2 are archedoutwardly beyond the arc of inoven'ient of the gripping faces of themovable jaws so as to leave ample clearance for the reception of thearticles to be dried between the coacting sets of jaws. These movablejaws -3-- are provided with laterally extending arms or stop shoulders-1() which project some distance beyond the inner faces of the arms 9and preferably through elongated slots -11- in which they are adapted toplay as the movable jaws are opened and closed. These arms or extensions--10- are located some distance above the gripping points of the jaws 2and -3 to allow limited portions of the articles to be dried to beinserted between said jaws but at the same time limiting the upwardmovement of such articles, thereby preventing them from curling over orbecoming caught upon the upper edges of the movable jaws and permittingsuch articles to readily gravitate from between the coacting sets ofjaws when the movable aws are tripped or moved from the grippingposition.

In addition to the function of the eXten sions l0 in preventing thelaundried articles from becoming caught upon the movable jaws, they alsoserve to guide said jaws in their vertical movement and thereby maintaina more perfect registration be tween the gripping points of the jaws.These movable jaws are also provided with integral upwardly projectingarms 12 located substantially midway between the pivots land grippingpoints so as to produce additional weight outside of the pivots tendingto close the movable jaws upon the articles more positively andeffectively than would be possible if the arms -12 were located directlyover the pivots. These arms 1Q extend upwardly through horizontallyelongated slots 13- in the arms 9- and some distance above said arms andterminate in outwardly deflected extensions -l lforming finger pieces bywhich the jaws may be opened by hand and also serving as contact piecesfor engagement with suitable cams or rails a indicated by dotted linesin Fig. 2 for opening the jaws and releasing the articles as the dropsemerge successively from the drying room.

Pivotally secured to and movable with the upper ends of the arms -12 ofthe jaws 3- are horizontally disposed pins 15 of wire or other suitablematerial which are guided in apertured lugs or cars 16 rising from thecentral portions of the arms 9 between the slots 13-. When the movablejaws are in their closed position these arms 15 project outwardly asuflicient distance beyond the outer faces of the arms -1(3 to receiveand support collars, cuffs and similar apertured articles which are heldon said pins or arms against accidental displacement by underlyingloopshaped guards l7.

The amount of projection of the pins or arms -15 beyond the outer faceof the ears or lugs 16 when the jaws are closed is substantially equalto or slightly less than the length of the arc of movement of theportions of the jaws to which they are attached as operated by the camrails ain opening the jaws so that when the pins are withdrawn inwardly,the articles which may be supported thereby will be drawn against theouter faces of the ears or lugs 16- and will thereby be forced off fromthe outer ends of the pins and allow such articles to drop by gravitywhen the jaws are opened by the cam rails a-.

The guards l7 consist of open sided loops projecting laterally andhorizontally from the main supporting frame to which they are secured bysuitable fastening means as nuts 18, the open sides of the loops facingin a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the conveyerchain so as to prevent any possibility of the released articles beingcaught upon the loops.

In operation portions of the more or less damp articles to be dried areinserted by hand between the coacting sets of jaws 2- and -3, themovable jaws being opened by mere pressure of the articles against theirgripping faces or against the limiting stops -10 which limit the upwardmovement of the articles relatively to the gripping faces of the jaws,said jaws instantly closing by their own gravity to grip the articleswhen the latter are released while the weight of the articles or anydownward pull upon them serves to grip the jaws more tightly upon them,thereby preventing any possibility of the articles becoming disengagedfrom the jaws while passing through the drier. Other articles such ascollars, cuffs may be placed upon the outer ends of the pins 15 withinthe loops 17- as the drops with the dried articles thereon emerge fromthe drier. The extensions 14r of the arms 12- are engaged by the camrails afor opening the jaws and withdrawing the pins 15, therebyreleasing the articles from between the jaws and also from the pinssimultaneously and allowing them to drop into a suitable receptacle notshown.

What I claim is:

1. A drop-carrier for conveyer chains comprising a frame having acentral head and fixed jaws spaced some distance apart from the head,movable jaws pivoted to the head and extending across such space andcoacting with the fixed jaws to grip articles between them, said jawshaving upwardly extending arms located between their pivots and grippingpoints and extending some dis tance above the arms of the frame,horizontally disposed pins secured to and project-- ing outwardly fromthe upper ends of said arms, and apertured guides on the frame forreceiving and guiding the outer ends of the pins.

2. A drop carrier for endless conveyers comprising a head havingoppositely projecting slotted arms terminating in jaws, and oppositemovable jaws pivoted to the head to coact with the first named aws andprovided with stop shoulders guided in the slots in the arms.

3. A drop carrier for endless conveyers comprising a head havingoppositely projecting slotted arms extending downwardly some distancebelow the head and terminating in relatively fixed jaws, and movablejaws pivoted to the head to coact with the relatively fixed jaws andprovided with laterally projecting stops guided in the slots in thearms.

4:. A drop carrier for endless conveyers comprising a head havingoppositely projecting arms extending downwardly some distance below thehead and terminating at their lower ends in relatively fixed jaws, andmovable jaws coacting with the relatively fixed jaws and pivoted to thehead at points some distance above the points of contact between thejaws.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 4th day ofJanuary 1910.

WVILBUR W. QUINN.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, E. F. SPEAKING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

